John Paul Jones was fierce military leader

4:28 AM,
Jul. 6, 2013

Artist's interpretation of the battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the HMS Serapis, 1779.

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When times of war confront us, our fortunes rest on the unusual capabilities, capacities and courage of warriors, and those characteristics that are welcomed and exploited when we so badly need them are generally unwelcome and rejected at all other times.

The story of the Continental Navy, and the feisty man who formed much of its character, John Paul Jones, is a telling example.

Jones was born on July 6, 1747, on an estate in Kirkbean, Scotland, where his father was the chief gardener. He was born John Paul, and added the name Jones in 1773, when he killed a crewman in an altercation on the island ...